A military that is so constrained cannot successfully fight a war against an enemy that does not follow any rules. The best way to save our soldiers’ lives is the obvious one: bring them home. A new factor that the President should consider is the prospect of an Afghan civil war. Dexter Filkins of The New York Times wrote on June 27th, “The drive by President Hamid Karzai to strike a deal with Taliban leaders and their Pakistani backers is causing deep unease in Afghanistan’s minority communities, who fought the Taliban the longest and suffered the most during their rule. The leaders of the country’s Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara communities, which make up close to half of Afghanistan’s population, are vowing to resist – and if necessary, fight – any deal that involves bringing members of the Taliban insurgency into a power-sharing arrangement with the government. Alienated by discussions between President Karzai and the Pakistan military and intelligence officials, minority leaders are taking their first steps toward organizing against what they fear is Mr. Karzai’s long-held desire to restore the dominance of ethnic Pashtuns, who ruled the country for generations.”

We have been in Afghanistan for nine years. Many military experts believe we could be there for another ten years. Are we now to sacrifice the lives of more of our young men and women and treasure of this country having spent more than one trillion dollars on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to date, in a new civil war that is brewing between Afghans? Will we continue to support Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whom our government has labeled as corrupt? Apparently he is now dealing with the Taliban with the knowledge and agreement of the U.S. Does this make any sense, since we attacked the Taliban government in late 2001 because it allowed al-Qaeda to train and plot against us in Afghanistan and gave shelter to Osama bin-Laden? If the Taliban were to come back to power through power sharing, does anyone believe they will give up their Islamic fundamentalist agenda, including trampling women’s rights, converting infidels by force and warring against the West and the rest of the non-Muslim world?